Download A Revolution Indeed, 1774-1783

Ch. 6: American Revolutions,
1775–1783
 Patriots need to transform earlier resistance into
coalition for independence
 Need:
 To generate enough popular support to
endure long conflict
 Foreign allies, esp. France
 A military strategy to defeat British
I. Toward War
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Assuming patriots would be easily defeated,
British try to seize military supplies in Concord, MA
(April 1775) / Arrest J. Hancock & S. Adams
After dispersing Lexington’s militia, British face
significant armed opposition in Concord
Forced to retreat to Boston
The Siege of Boston
Open warfare starts
Patriots encircle Boston
I. Toward War (cont'd.)
First Year of War
 British strategy:
 1) create large professional army to defeat
patriots quickly
 2) capture major cities and win key battles
 3) once defeated, colonies would be loyal
 British not realize this a different war
 First modern war of national liberation
I. Toward War (cont'd.)
Second Continental Congress
 evolved into intercolonial war government
 Olive Branch Petition rejected
 Peace = repeal the Intolerable Act
George Washington
 2nd Cont. Congress selects Washington as
commander (1775)
 integrity
 military experience
 devotion to representative government and
revolution
 Background?
p150
II. Forging an Independent
Republic
Common Sense
Paine’s Common Sense (1776) generate support
for overt independence
 advocate republic without king or nobility
 stress English exploitation
 widely distributed/discussed because reflect
oral culture of majority (everyday language,
Bible)
p153
II. Forging an Independent
Republic (cont’d.)
Jefferson & the Declaration of Independence
 Jefferson = main author of Declaration
 See George III as tyrant out to destroy
representative government
 Establish basic political ideals:
 all men created equal with key rights
 government by consent
 right of revolution
Colonies to States
Congress encourage states to draft constitutions =
move to formal separation
II. Forging an Independent
Republic (cont’d.)
Colonies to States (cont’d.)
Develop documents: specifying structure, use
special conventions, electorate ratification
Limiting State Governments
Fear of tyranny shape new state structures
Restrict governors; strengthen legislatures
Lower property qualification for voting
Enumerate rights with independent judiciary
II. Forging an Independent
Republic (cont’d.)
Articles of Confederation
A unicameral legislature
Each state has 1 vote regardless of population
9/13 majority required to pass legislation
13/13 to amend
Funding a Revolution
Congress borrows at home and abroad
Decline of the “Continental”
Figure 6-1 p156
III. Choosing Sides
Patriots
2/5 of Euro-Americans active revolutionaries:
Farmers, dominant Protestant sects, Chesapeak
gentry and merchants
Loyalists
Loyalists = 20% of European Americans
Dislike British policy since mid-1760s, but reject
separation
Fear violence, prefer constitutional reform
p157
III. Choosing Sides (cont'd.)
Neutrals
40% neutral; either opportunistic or want to be left
alone, esp. on frontier
Revolutionaries punish loyalists and neutrals
Native Americans
Ignoring 1763 Proclamation, frontier settlers very
anti-Native American
Most remain neutral, some become hesitant
British allies; a few tribes support patriots
III. Choosing Sides (cont'd.)
African Americans
For slaves, key issue = freedom; most decide
British offer best chance of release
More than 10,000 runaways join British
IV. The Struggle in the North
 British abandon Boston (1776)
New York and New Jersey
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defeat Washington in Manhattan
Washington retreat through NJ
British brutalities alienate many
Washington’s attacks at Trenton and Princeton
rally patriot support
Campaign of 1777
 British generals (Howe, Burgoyne) not coordinate
1777 campaigns
 Move slowly = give rebels time to prepare
Map 6-1 p162
IV. The Struggle in the North
(cont'd.)
Campaign of 1777 (cont’d.)
Howe focus on Philadelphia, but victory there not
big help to British
Iroquios Confederacy Splinters
Iroquois divide (1777); some ally with British
Result = defeat and displacement
IV. The Struggle in the North
(cont'd.)
Burgoyne’s Surrender
Burgoyne defeated at Saratoga (NY)
After Saratoga, France shift from covert to open
support for revolution
Franco-American Alliance of 1778
In 2 treaties (1778), France recognize and ally
with new nation
Now a global war:
 British face expanded conflict
 French supplies and military support crucial
V. Battlefield and Home Front
Militia Units
 Early shift from militia to Continental Army
Continental Army
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Most enlistees = young, single, landless
Sign up for bonuses and land
Middle states recruit many immigrants
5,000 blacks (slave and free) join
Women provide key support
V. Battlefield and Home
Front(cont'd.)
Hardship and Disease
 Army life difficult:
 low wages
 poor clothing/food
 disease (smallpox)
 Desertion a problem
 Inoculations and foreign-born recruits help
 Those captured by British suffer terribly
VI. The War Moves South
South Carolina and the Caribbean
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Success in Caribbean and GA (1778-79)
Take Charleston (1780)
On surface British dominate SC
But not control interior
French threaten naval supply links, Caribbean
Tens of 1,000s slaves escape
Disrupt southern economy
VI. The War Moves South
(cont'd.)
General Green and the Southern Campaign
 conciliate loyalists and neutrals
 reestablish civilian authority
 keep most Indians neutral (key for backcountry
militias)
 Tide turns post-1780 as British lose south
Surrender at Yorktown
 Washington trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown with
help of French fleet (1781);
 resign = precedent of civilian control of military
Map 6-2 p169
VII. Uncertain Victories
Treaty of Paris
American diplomats deftly negotiate Paris Treaty
Generous boundaries for new USA
Persistence key to victory
Colonists (esp. in military) form new U.S. identity
Independence costly in lives and material:
-25,000 dead
-economy shattered / lots of debt